Helplessness Blues
by SimpleCinema
Summary: One year after the ending of Persona 5, Akira and Ann get together. After an overnight study session, the two find themselves in the midst of a blizzard, stuck inside Leblanc for a few days, and enjoy their copious free time together.
1. Chapter 1

How in the hell did it snow this much in Tokyo?

Every year it would be two, maybe three days maximum where even a single snowflake could be seen. Usually it never stuck, and only snowed about an inch, maybe two, but this year it was different, accumulating more and more almost by the hour, sending local businesses and schools into a world they were hardly prepared for. 'Different' around there when it came to those kind of weather conditions really meant 'horrifically inconvenient and potentially disastrous'. But as luck would have it, Akira Kurusu was a very 'different' kind of guy.

It was almost like he brought the weird weather WITH him. He came along and shook up everyone's entire world. He was so kind an unassuming though, it was almost difficult for his friends and fellow Phantom Thieves to believe he was the suave and cunning trickster that was perhaps the most wanted man in all of Japan only a year ago. But that time had long since passed, and Akira was simply the lovable goofball his friends knew him as in the normal world, though he missed those days on occasion solely for the fact that they let him escape from his normal self. He had grown, now more a blend of the old Akira and the Phantom Thief, but the latter really only ever came into play with his reflexes and whenever he needed to summon more charisma or courage in a given social situation. Dating, for example.

Ann Takamaki, to be more specific.

Akira couldn't lie, he was surrounded by girls who were unearthly beautiful. It all felt so natural when he lead a double life, part of the escapism of the entire affair had to do with style and beauty, like an old spy movie, it was just a part of the aesthetic. But after the year was over and beyond the Shido drama, once that veil was lifted, Akira found that he was, despite some gained confidence, incredibly intimidated in that respect. Not because of some petty grievance with his own masculinity, but because his friends were all so talented and driven, though their beauty didn't help when it came to being approachable from the Akira's standpoint anyway. Once the metaverse saga was over, he felt somewhat inadequate, like he had lost the one thing that truly made him special, and now he was surrounded by people who were Phantom Thieves AND generally passionate about life and their place in it. This all funneled together to create a world of fear when it came to matters of the heart. When his life returned to normal, going back to Tokyo for the next year of school, he felt a bit left behind, despite thankfully being able to connect with his old friends, which at the end of the day, was the only things that mattered. It took a bit to adjust, and at the beginning everyone had to fight back an undercurrent of anger at the boy for doing what he did, taking the heat so he was the only one in trouble with the law. His act was out of care and selflessness, but it was nonetheless not how this situation was planned to play out. He knew, however, that saving his friends took precedence over loyalty. Another stint for him was just that, another bit of red on his ledger, for them it would have ruined their lives. How they were seen by people, their classmates and friends, their promising careers, he just couldn't let that happen. Thankfully, time heals all wounds, and the gang was back together and stronger than ever before. Which again, only lead Akira to be more nervous when he developed feelings for one of his close friends, worried these feelings could disrupt the newfound harmony and group dynamic. However, he was of the mind that he only had one life, and if he didn't talk to his crush about it, he'd regret it until he died.

Ann was one of the first people he made friends with, and was enamored with her from the start. The way she dealt with Kamoshida was nothing short of sheer, unadulterated selflessness. The way she helped her friend Shiho, did relatively well in school, maintained her life as a Phantom Thief, and still held on to a successful modeling career. The girl may have been a handful at times, and driven the group to near-bankruptcy solely because of her love of crepes, but if the crime Ann was guilty of was caring too much, then it wasn't really a crime worth noting. So in the following school months, the summer, and the new year, Akira got to see the more normal side of Ann. Sure they all hung out a lot before, but the lack of Metaverse made everyone breathe a little easier, so they could all be far more easygoing. Day after day, his affection for the girl grew, and it got to the point where the other girls were taking notice of it, who all were in such a hurry to support Akira, they acted almost like cheerleaders when it finally became time to tell her. Even Makoto, the group's designated mom, pushed Akira to do it, though it was mainly Futaba and Haru, who refused to quit bringing it up until he bit the bullet and just told her. So, one day he asked her to go to the movies with him, and after it ended, the two returned to Leblanc, and he made his confession while wearing an apron after making Ann some coffee, an apron that came in handy because Ann's surprise lead her to doing a spit-take with an espresso. Akira was secretly thankful for that, it diffused the tension a whole lot and cause them both to erupt into a giggle fit before the conversation continued. Much to his surprise, Ann said she not only felt the same way, but had felt that way for some time, but felt too intimidated to approach him. He would've taken note of the hilarious irony, but was so happy he didn't care.

Ann's feelings for Akira bloomed at the most inconvenient time. When he was in prison.

She was mad at him, very mad. His ridiculous dedication to self-sacrifice was absurd. She knew why he did it, she just didn't want him to. The pure, human desire for just wanting to escape it all with no consequence. His heroism was so acute it became a flaw in his character. She found him attractive from day one, but quickly suppressed that because at first, she thought he was just some delinquent kid who happened to be kind of cute. She wasn't sure if she was romantically interested him at any time up to that point when he left, maybe it was a more subconscious desire, but he was all she thought about. Despite how it all ended, he was largely responsible for the group being as large and tightly knit as it was. He was their fearless leader, and they had forged memories that would be the highlights of their lives. She knew she cared for him deeply, but when he returned, buried the notion deep within her because she was just so happy to have him back, to have everyone back to their old selves again. She almost gave up entirely, but after he took her to Leblanc, it was like a miracle had happened.

The following few months were about as good as life got, as far as they were concerned. They both knew the other missed some of the thrill of being outlaw vigilantes on a crusade for good, but in contrast, getting to enjoy a mundane year of normal school felt like a treat. It was just so easy now, not to mention it was their final year, meaning classes were easier and the atmosphere was far more lax. Even though both Makoto and Yusuke were at college, they were close by and met up anytime the group did outside of school, though Makoto's classes frequently made her have to regiment her time to be short, but she made sure she made time for her friends. Futaba was finally in school, adjusting to it fairly well, but did even better once her support pillar came back in the form of Akira. Ryuji was, well, he was still Ryuji, so coming back to find his pal was just the same as he left was comforting. Haru had sold most of her shares in Okumura Foods after trying to be somewhat involved with the corporate process, but opted out and was sitting on a practical throne of money, but was far from lavish or regal in her usage of it. Because of what happened she even donated to programs that aimed to help troubled youths. Their cat, Morgana, lived with Futaba, but frequently popped in on the others to see how they were doing.

So the months leading up to that day in December had been ones of mundanity, and no one was more grateful for that than Akira and Ann. It was surprising how little their relationship truly changed once they started dating, which showed the two of them how truly obvious their feelings had been, in hindsight. They already frequently hung out together alone, now it was more of just calling the act a 'date' instead of just hanging out. Everything had been paced very well. The couple communicated well, they never felt the need to hide anything, and they simply enjoyed each other's company a great deal. Without a supernatural force threatening the entire world, life was now a bit of a breeze. Despite their efforts to not display too much affection in front of their friends to avoid being weird, they were still frequently teased for being lovebirds, as everyone anticipated. It was slow, it was normal, and it was such a positive experience Akira mocked himself for being so wound up about it and nervous. His anxieties weren't suddenly gone, he wasn't miraculously 100%, but Ann made his life better, and vice versa.

The previous night had been a fun one. Ann originally planned on studying with Akira all night, but instead opted to watch one of the dozens of movies he'd rented with him. They were almost two hours behind on their studying, both of them collapsing into the early hours of the morning.

Akira awoke almost startled, it felt like a bright light was shining down on his face. He opened his eyes, blocking out some of the light with his hand, discovering it was just his window. The white light came from literally everything being covered in snow. Akira had fallen asleep on his stomach on the floor, his face using his textbook as a pillow. He faintly recalled Ann saying she was sleepy and him doing the gentlemanly thing and offering her the bed whilst they did their work, both of them too tired to really care if the other one was still studying. He had seen snow before, but not like this, maybe only in photos. As his eyes adjusted, he saw Ann, collapsed in the center of his bed, entirely covered in blankets. No basking in the morning light, no waking up gently and greeting one another with good morning, instead Ann had elected to bury herself beneath the blankets. Akira's only clue that she was even present was her left foot that managed to stick out amidst the comfortable chaos.

He couldn't resist.

He leaned forward, suddenly realizing the toll that had been taken on his body for sleeping in such a way, but nonetheless, kept moving, apprehensively raising his hand to his girlfriend's foot. He held his breath and squeezed her big toe.

For being so entrenched in her makeshift blanket fort, Ann practically exploded when Akira's hand made contact with her. She sprang up, almost a foot, landing back on the bed in an awkward position, sitting upwards, legs almost contorted when she landed. She was many things, and because of their adventures last year, flexible was one of those things. Being a heavy sleeper, was not.

The first thing she set her bright blue eyes on was the sight of her boyfriend, messy black hair even more of a disaster than it was usually, school uniform clothes disheveled, laughing diabolically on the floor, clutching his stomach almost as if he were in pain. She rolled her eyes, unhappy that her wake-up call had been so startling, in revenge she tossed a pillow his way, but it was largely ineffective.

"You are such a little shit," Ann said, unable to contain a wry smile.

She couldn't deny it. He was kinda cute when he laughed like that.

"Morning sunshine," he said after sticking his tongue out at her.

Ann's face relaxed into a smile before her eyes widened, giving Akira a minor panic attack.

"Wait, morning? What time is it?!" she asked urgently.

Akira nodded towards his window.

"Approximately around 'there-is-no-way-in-hell-we-have-school-today-o'clock' I'd guess," he said.

Ann's look changed from one of slight panic to one of wonder.

"Whoa… Akira, come here, look at all this!" she said, mouth agape.

He stood up, maintaining his balance as best he could, getting onto the bed next to Ann, putting his arm around her, pressing them together a bit.

She had asked him with good cause, the snow wasn't just heavy, it was almost unbelievable. He took off his glasses, rubbing the lenses and hastily putting them back on to see that he wasn't just seeing things.

The amount of accumulation and ice was something he had never seen before. He thought that surely he must've been in the Metaverse to be seeing something like that, but reality clung to him like the icicles clung to the top of the window. He couldn't even see how it was affecting everything outside, it was all still coming down so heavily and it was all so white it was hard to make heads or tails of anything.

Akira gulped.

"Hey Ann… what _exactly_ did you tell your caretaker you were doing to spend the night over here?"

Ann's parents were away for reasons that Akira was never entirely sure on. She had said in the past that it was 'business' but he was never sure what that business actually was. As a result, a live-in caretaker sort of acted as her guardian, a family friend who had been compensated handsomely, who thankfully Ann was on fairly good terms with.

Ann smiled.

"I told her I was cramming with Futaba. She called Sojiro and he covered for me," she said calmly.

Akira looked at her, eyebrow crooked with doubt.

"Sojiro? Are you serious?"

She nodded.

"Well, I kinda maybe went over there for dinner and then snuck out to head over here," she said, Akira was able to detect a bit of 'Panther' in that sentence.

"Well he's probably going to be wondering where you are now… you know… considering it looks like we're stuck in an igloo," he said, concerned.

"Hey the weather forecast said 'precipitation possible' don't blame me!"

Akira laughed.

"I'm not blaming you, I'm just saying. I don't doubt Boss would cover for me if she called him, however what I do doubt is the probability that Sojiro would NOT kick my ass and flatten me like a pancake,"

Ann playfully hugged him.

"Pancakes would be nice. Crepes would be better," she said, laying her head on his shoulder.

"I walked right into that one," he said with a bit of joking resignation.

"Yes you sure did," Ann said, nuzzling the bottom of his jaw.

Just as the two of them had become physically comfortable, the two of them heard the door to Leblanc open and the faint ' _ding!'_ of the bell, accompanied by the sounds of howling wind and a mumbling Sojiro.

Akira sighed.

"Ah yes. And thus my divine punishment has arrived. Time to see what horrid fate awaits me…" he said, only slightly joking.

Ann let go of him as he hopped to his feet.

"Hey, in our defense we were completely responsible. The only thing he can get mad at me for is not getting enough sleep," she said deliberately playing up her glee at her presumed innocence.

"Oh for sure, you're gonna be fine. He likes you. Now come down with me so maybe he won't kick my ass immediately," he said straightening his clothes as best he could.

Ann jumped up, licking her finger and immediately leaping to fix Akira's messy hair. He ducked down to avoid her incoming assault, but was too slow, and slicked back his hair a bit, getting his bangs out from his face.

"Ugh way to start the day off with some A+ parenting, mom," he said, feigning a pout.

"Oh shut up you love me," she said, following him to the steps down to the door.

"Irrelevant," he said, opening the door for her, "And yes I do,"

Ann always tried to be coy but even then, she blushed a little bit.

The two headed downstairs to find an unexpected sight. Not only did they find Sojiro, still trying to brush the snow off of himself, but Futaba as well, carrying a couple plastic bags. Both were decked out in as much winter gear as they owned, Sojiro wearing a hat, gloves, a heavier coat, and some old-looking boots. Futaba's small frame was entirely covered in largely-plush winter gear, a large fluffy coat, gloves, a hat with tassles, and boots that practically came up to her knees that were definitely Sojiro's nicer pair.

Akira wasted no time and instantly cracked up laughing at the sight.

"Y-you look like a marshmallow," he said, unable to stifle his chuckles.

"That's what I said!" Futaba whined, giving Sojiro a well-aimed punch in the arm.

"Ouch! I was keeping you from freezing," he grunted, rubbing his arm, "And you, don't laugh, you're in trouble,"

Futaba had an evil-looking grin and Akira immediately shut up. Ann braced for impact.

Sojiro cleared his throat.

"Ah yes, morning miss Takamaki. I hope Akira was kind enough to at least let you sleep in his bed,"

The two of them turned a bright red, the both of them opening their mouths to explain, but Sojiro held up his hand and gave out a hearty chuckle.

"I'm messing with you, calm down, I may not trust him alone with a girl, but I trust you alone with him," he said in a more low-key tone, "Ann your caretaker called and because I was under the impression you were still in Futaba's room-"

He shot both girls a knowing look.

"-I informed her you were safe and sound, and we'd have you home as soon as the roads were clear,"

The four of them all took a look outside, the snow still blowing without sign of letting up.

"Which won't be any time soon. Almost two feet out there already. Reports say it isn't stopping soon either,"

Ann let out an audible gasp.

"Two FEET?" she exclaimed.

Akira thought he must've been joking or exaggerating, but his face showed no sign of changing.

"Oh yeah. There's a bonafide panic out there. Got businessmen trying to get to work with shovels. We just aren't equipped to deal with this sort of thing. Meanwhile this storm system isn't going away. News said to stay indoors and get cozy,"

Futaba looked somewhat gleeful.

"They waited to cancel school until the last second because of that exam, but now a bunch of parents got all mad, they canceled for tomorrow too. Snow day!" she said satisfied.

Akira and Ann just stood there, amazed this was even happening.

"But uh, yeah," Sojiro added, "Figured I'd bring over some extra coffee filters, some water, make sure you two were still breathing and all that,"

He motioned over to the little bags Futaba had brought with her.

"You aren't staying?" Akira inquired.

Sojiro looked back at him, almost baffled.

"You kidding? Hell no! We certainly aren't getting any business and this time of year I'm starting to feel my age. I'm going back to bed. I just wanted to be certain you all had everything you needed, and to tell you to keep everything clean, all that jazz. I'm still somewhat responsible, I'll have you know,"

Futaba was looking at Ann and Akira like she knew something they didn't, giving them a knowing smirk.

"Just text Futaba if you need anything. There should be plenty of food in- oh what am I talking about you know where it all is Akira, you're here more than I am these days!"

Akira was too baffled to make a quip about that exaggeration.

"Make sure he behaves himself Ann, I'm counting on you," he said, giving her a sly wink.

He waved at the two teens, and Futaba jumped up, sticking her tongue out at Akira, to which he promptly responded in kind. They opened the door, wind almost carrying poor Futaba away, and left almost as soon as they came, the bell ringing extra loud in their absence.

Akira walked over to the bags Sojiro left them. Some water bottles in one, coffee filters and hot cocoa mix in the other. He was a bit baffled at his guardian's leniency. He knew that he liked Ann, but he sincerely trusted the two of them alone together in Leblanc? For two days? Sojiro had been pretty overworked lately due to Akira's active social life and studying, meaning his breaks at the shop had been few and far between, but never in his wildest dreams did he imagine him being okay with that.

So did that mean…?

"Hey Akira," Ann chirped, still standing a few feet back.

He looked back at the girl.

"D-does this mean that we get two whole days? Completely by ourselves?"

He was too caught up in Sojiro's thought process to even think about that. Futaba had said school was canceled, and from what it seemed like, recovering from this kind of storm would take a while. While the two of them loved their more normal lives, and saw each other regularly, the two of them rarely had time where it was just them. They were more often than not, with their friends or under some form of supervision, and when they were alone, it was mostly with the caveat of still being in public.

Akira shrugged and nodded. Smiling at the realization.

Ann had to hold back genuinely cheering she was so excited at the prospect. She was happy if they managed to get an hour or two to talk in between studying, last night's movie was impromptu and mostly consisted of Ann trying to not snort whenever she laughed.

Akira wasn't sure what this meant, but he was certain that the following few days would be exactly what he and Ann needed.


	2. Chapter 2

(Yo! Sorry this took kinda long, I've been writing this and another fic, university has me pretty busy, and I've been working hard at my other writing endeavors as well! In fact, I just published Volume 4 of my book series on Amazon today, so if you like my writing and wanna support a struggling author, check it out! I've got both a kindle version and a paperback of each one. It's called 'Those Who Dwell in the Dark' if you're interested, just search that on Amazon and it'll take you there (Content wise it's also pretty similar to the Persona stuff I've written) But I also wanted to take the time to thank each and every reader of both this story and my other one. The feedback has been incredible and it's been so encouraging to see people like this, so it's done a great job at motivating me and I've loved every minute of it, so seriously, thank you. I hope you all enjoy!)

Chapter 2:

Ann had cuddled up in a blanket on Akira's futon in his room, sipping the cup of coffee made by her boyfriend's capable hands. He may not have had a large variety of recipes in his cooking repertoire, but the boy was practically a savant when it came to coffee and curry. It would've gotten old quick, but somehow he managed to make everything taste a little bit different each time he made something for her.

She sat in his room waiting on him, as he said he was making a surprise for her, and it took every ounce of willpower she had not to sneak a peek. He was getting in the habit of doing these spontaneous little things for her that, no matter how minor, made her whole day better, simply because she knew he was thinking about her in some capacity. Her sense of inquisitiveness and latent curiosity however, that was always a bit at odds with surprises. She figured it was some kind of food, an unfamiliar scent lingered in the room, but she couldn't tell what due to her coffee and because the scent itself wasn't all that strong, only just creeping up to Akira's room.

She took another sip of the coffee as she glanced out the window. It had been about an hour since Sojiro left them alone, and the snow hadn't slowed down in the slightest. She knew it was probably a pain in the ass for a lot of people, but she would have been lying if she said she wasn't excited a bit. She had more experience with others when it came to weather of this nature because of how often she had traveled, but even then, the snowiest corner of Canada couldn't compete with this. She was just there, with the person she cared about the most, basking in the snow-tinted morning glow that made her feel like it was perpetually Christmas morning. Nobody on earth was as happy as she was, huddled in her large fluffy blanket, slightly chilly, but happily siphoning the warmth from her coffee. And she thought Hawaii was paradise.

"Ann? Have you peeked?" Akira's voice rang out from downstairs.

Ann rolled her eyes.

"I haven't! Get up here already I'm cold!" she jokingly demanded.

She couldn't hear Akira make his way up to his own room. He hadn't lost his ability to be uncannily light-footed. His coordination and reflexes were unparalleled, he just had difficulty sometimes channeling his charisma to the right places, with Ann at least. Because of the people he helped and everyone's high opinion of him, he was fairly well-liked now at school, but around Ann? It varied. Significantly. Something that Ann highly enjoyed, he didn't let it all go towards inflating his ego. He was still just himself, and everything that entailed.

Funnily enough, Akira felt similarly. Ann was a model. An actual, legitimate, successful model. It wasn't a secret that every guy in a 9-mile radius was rendered slack jawed by her mere presence. The girl didn't even have to try. He wasn't sure why Ann hadn't yet attracted the attention of someone semi-decent before he came along, he didn't want to believe that everyone was a total scumbag, but then again, it probably had to do with Kamoshida. He remembered hearing the foul comments about her before they had even met. Had he encountered a situation similar to that now, whoever made those comments would have a broken nose and gotten a swift kick in the balls. All that didn't matter though, what did was how down to earth Ann was. She enjoyed her indulgences, sure, but what person wouldn't after traveling all over the world? She always took time to hang around with those she cared for, she never bragged outside her more sarcastic quips, and she managed to still retain a healthy amount of pride in what she did. She maintained a perfect balance.

Akira swung open the door triumphantly, wearing his work apron and an oven mitt, carrying a metal tray with him, though Ann couldn't see exactly what. He got up the stairs and bowed, still holding out the tray.

"Nothing but the finest for you, mademoiselle," he said, really stretching for that french accent.

A tray full of chocolate chip cookies. Ann gave him a smirk and narrowed her eyes.

"If you're trying to butter me up, it's working,"

Akira stood up normally flashing his smile, one that rode the line between playful and mischievous.

He pulled out a small fold-out table he kept on the other side of the futon near his couch, and put it right in front of the bed for easy access, placing the tray on there. He tossed aside his apron onto the floor, and jumped on the bed, immediately placing his head on Ann's shoulder, grabbing some extra unused blanket and covering himself, snaking one of his legs around hers.

Ann took one of the cookies apprehensively, shoving it into her mouth because it was a bit too hot for liking immediately.

"Oh yeah, those are hot," Akira added.

"Mmmhm, -ouwa dick Akeewa," she said, cookie in mouth.

He stifled some laughter at Ann's complete lack of caring that her mouth was stuffed with food. She quickly swallowed the cookie, almost choking from her own laughter. Akira was infectious.

"Akeewa? That's a new one. I think that nickname gets a B-," he said playing up his snobbery.

"I'm gonna wait until you grade a nickname with an F and then call you that until you die,"

Akira briefly considered the prospect that she may not be joking.

"So," Ann began before stuffing a cookie in her mouth, wolfing it down like an animal, "What are we gonna do today?"

Akira paused. He had only gone as far as the cookies and it was still early morning. There wasn't exactly a lack of things to do, Ann surprisingly enjoyed just about everything he did, a luxury he was quite thankful for.

"Well I still have plenty movies, bought some new games since you were over last time, and… yeah that's all I got, my creativity has been depleted so the ball is mostly in your court. I'll do whatever you wanna do," he said giving her a wink.

He may have just been his usual, playful self, but in the context of the conversation, Ann almost felt like he was hinting at something. Or maybe it was just her picking up some not-entirely-clear signals.

"Yeah I guess we're a bit limited… we'll have to get creative," she said, gears in her head turning.

Akira laughed.

"Oh? And what's THAT supposed to mean?" he asked, employing maximum sass.

Ann was strangely relieved to see that her mind wasn't the only one orbiting the gutter. It made her feel like less of a perv. However, this tugged at something that had bothered her for a little while, something she was afraid to bring up. She figured now that they had all this time, she might as well use it to clear the air a bit.

She picked up another cookie, almost examining it.

"Akira, can I ask a question? Like, a real question?" she asked, quickly shoving the cookie in her face in anticipation to respond to Akira's answer.

He sat up and straightened himself a bit, even putting his arm around her. His ability to discard one side of his personality and quickly hop onto another, more serious side, was one of his finer attributes.

"Of course, Ann," he said.

She curled her lips, and stared off to the side a bit.

"Does it bother you that we haven't had sex?"

Akira was just as surprised as Ann was that she managed to ask that question.

He shifted a bit, settling himself, but moving away from Ann so that he could directly face her and make eye contact. Ann knew she flipped his 'serious switch' whenever he changed his body language like that. He held onto her hand she wasn't using to pick up cookies.

It wasn't as if neither of them had thought about it until that moment. They had mentioned sex in passing or joked about it in the way normal teenagers would, but the actual component it played in their relationship? It was never talked about. It wasn't exactly like either of them weren't sexual beings by nature, in fact quite the opposite. Both of them were afraid that they would somehow frighten the other on mentioning it. Akira's trepidation was increased because of the Kamoshida incident. Ann had made it clear she moved on, and he believed her, but the last thing he wanted to come across as was someone who wanted to physically manipulate her, so he figured it would be better that he waited until she expressed interest. Ann on the other hand was nervous simply because she never knew how to act in a sexual context. She was used to being looked at because of her modeling, and she heard the way some guys had talked about her, especially at the beginning of last year, but she wasn't exactly forward. She had desires just like any other teenager did, but she just didn't know how to approach her boyfriend without coming across as pressuring him. The two had been physical, kissing and making out whenever they got the opportunity, but much to both of their surprise, the other was reserved and strangely chaste when it came to that sort of thing.

"Well, no not really," Akira said, "It's not exactly something I lie awake thinking about at night. Things have just been so good lately,"

"Do you think if we did it would ruin things?" she asked with concern.

Akira shook his head.

"No! It's not that, I just… I'm a guy. I know how a lot of guys are. And I know… how you've been treated in the past. I love you and I trust you, but the last thing I want to do is seem pushy. I'm just happy that we're… us, you know?"

Ann knew she had him flustered, his eloquation was far less elegant than it normally was.

"Do you think I wouldn't say something if I felt like we were going too far?" she asked.

Akira felt a bit put on the spot, even though Ann's inquiry was as honest as could be.

"No, I know you'd assert yourself. You're tougher than I am," he said nervously chuckling, "It's more of a 'me' problem. I overcompensate so I can make sure everything is copacetic,"

There it was. His trademark chivalry that Ann both loved and hated. Putting himself into a box so he couldn't hurt anybody even if it meant shutting them out. It was hard for him to abandon that entirely, but Ann wanted them to be honest about everything, he couldn't walk on eggshells like that all the time, even when it came to riskier stuff. Ann valued communication, and she knew he did as well, he just didn't value it above his own well-being.

"Akira, I love you. Please, just, don't do that thing where you assume you're the bad guy. I know you aren't. I know you trust me. I know that you know that I trust you. You have to give me some credit here. You aren't most guys, you're you, and that's why I love you. So just, no bullshit, we've got all the time in the world, just talk to me," she paused, noting he looked a bit defeated, "Does it bother you?"

He sighed.

"I mean… yes and no. I don't care about the 'rules' or 'standards' people have with relationships because I think we can both agree they're stupid constructs that aren't conducive to how real people interact. It's different for everyone. I genuinely _want_ to be respectful of you, Ann. I'm not fighting back desire in order to be a good boyfriend, I just want to _be_ a good boyfriend… if that makes sense. It's just complicated. I don't really know what I'm doing, you're the first person I've ever been involved with. However, just as a general thing, yeah, you're the person I care about the most in the whole world and I think you're drop-dead gorgeous, so sure it would be nice, I won't lie, I get urges, it happens, but it's not like it's a result of impending doom. The universe isn't gonna split apart. I just like being around you. Maybe I didn't want to give the wrong impression. And in case I wasn't crystal clear, I think you're the sexiest thing that's ever walked the earth, and if I ever came across like that wasn't the case, then I'm really sorry,"

Ann felt like she was about to cry. He certainly regained his confidence a bit because that was just about the most well-articulated he had ever been with his emotions.

It definitely made Ann feel better.

"Okay," she said, smiling and letting out a sigh a relief, "I just wanted to know. We haven't talked about it and I just thought it was kinda strange that we hadn't. I hope you know I feel the same way. I trust you completely. And I think you're pretty cute. Y'know, occasionally,"

Akira was relieved to hear her kid around again. He was worried that for a moment things would become really awkward before either of them really had any measure of fun while being in each other's company. Akira leaned over, planting a kiss on Ann's cheek, and then swiping two of the cookies off the tray. Ann rolled her eyes and smiled, but her face quickly changed as she looked like she was pondering something once again.

"J-just to be clear, I want to," she said.

Akira was mid-bite, and looked mildly out of sorts. He quickly swallowed it, almost coughing.

"Want to?"

Ann's face turned a bit redder, which was all the more pronounced in the white glow of the bedroom.

"Sex," she said, "Just in case I wasn't clear,"

"Oh," he said, blankly staring, "I mean, yeah, so do I,"

Ann closed her eyes and smiled, and then proceeded to bury her head in the blanket.

"Ugh why does this have to be so weird? I'm so awkward," she huffed, sounding a bit muffled.

"Well I'm a bit out of my wheelhouse too, Ann, to be fair,"

She rose back up, blanket falling off her head.

"So, you don't have any experience?" she asked.

He didn't have to think long about that one. He nervously laughed.

"Nope. You're the first girl I ever kissed, actually,"

Ann was in shock. She had just said she completely trusted him and now she was in utter disbelief. She knew he was good-looking, she was far from the only girl who thought that, but really?

"So can I both compliment and insult you by saying I find that hard to believe?" Ann asked, without sounding rather serious to avoid awkwardness.

Akira blushed.

"Well I'm flattered. I think. But no I'm serious. I was always a wallflower to be totally frank,"

She knew that was more or less the case, it just felt so strange to her. Akira had been the first boy she had kissed, but that didn't seem odd to her. Was she holding a double standard, or just lacked the proper perspective? She wasn't sure.

"Well," Ann began, not making eye contact, "Then, I have a question, I guess,"

"Shoot,"

She cleared her throat.

"Well, we've kinda gotten lucky with all the snow and stuff. It's giving us a ton of time where we get to be totally alone without any chance of interruption, which may not happen again for a long time… so… what if we did it today?"

Akira almost felt his brain leak out of his ears. Both of them were immediately blushing redder than a rose.

"O-Or tomorrow!" she added hurriedly, "I mean, don't wanna rush things and all. I just think that- you know, we gotta take advantage of the opportunity… is all,"

Akira new she was right. Chances like these were something they were rarely afforded. Putting that out there was just very… daunting. In theory, Akira (and Ann for that matter) was completely down for the prospect. The stars had aligned and they were in the midst of a miracle. They had so much time they'd be able to take things at the slowest possible pace without worry, which would more than likely happen since they were both so inexperienced.

They both had been silent for way too long.

"I mean you obviously don't have to if you don't want to!" she blurted out, "I didn't mean to… put you on the spot like that… ugh,"

She was clearly frustrated, Akira could tell this was something she had been thinking about for longer than just the few minutes they had spent discussing it. She was taking initiative, and he had to admit, she looked pretty incredible that morning, the light was so flattering to her it didn't seem fair.

"Okay," he said plainly, holding onto her hand a bit tighter.

She looked up, almost shocked.

"What?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, you're right. Everything is pretty perfect. It would be a waste. And you really look pretty this morning," he said blushing.

Ann was taken aback. Akira always tried to be more flowery when it came to his compliments, simple vernacular like 'pretty' weren't used, so it felt weirdly genuine, especially when accompanied by his notably more nervous tone.

She immediately reached forward and kissed him on the lips, almost pushing him backwards. She broke the kiss, and looked into his eyes. He smiled.

"You're pretty perfect too, you know," Ann said.

"I do, thank you for reminding me," he said flippantly, obviously faking.

She sat back down, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Well before we decide to do anything, I say we watch a movie and relax for a while. Sound good?" she asked him.

Akira nodded in agreement, and began to get up to look at their options as Ann hungrily snatched another cookie. Butterflies permeated both of their stomachs.

The two of them were about as excited, and about as nervous, as they had ever been.


End file.
